


Birthday Blues

by Jennie



Category: Station 19 (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2020-05-18 10:05:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19332358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jennie/pseuds/Jennie
Summary: It's Vic's birthday, but no one seems to care.





	Birthday Blues

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mangobutterfly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mangobutterfly/gifts).



It isn’t that Vic doesn’t like birthday parties or her birthday.  She likes them quite a lot, actually.  It’s just that this year they’ve been so busy.  Lucas has been around less than usual, working on a project with the City Council, and Adrian is a toddler and learning to assert his independence, which is good for him but bad for her because it means she spends a lot of time dealing with his messes.  So, when it gets close to her birthday – the big three-oh – she just figures that it will be a time to relax, sleep in, and maybe spend a quiet night at home.

 

Until it is her birthday, and Lucas wakes up early, kisses her good morning like he always does, and then takes off, all without a word about her birthday.

 

Did he forget?

 

Instead of sleeping in, like planned, she spends the time in bed worrying.

 

Then Adrian wakes up, and it’s time to get him ready for the day.  Normally she’d keep him home from daycare when she’s around and not dead exhausted because it’s the day after her shift, but today she made plans with the center to bring him in, so she can go to a spa for the day – a birthday gift to herself.

 

“You can’t bring him in today,” the center informs her, when she checks her voice mail that morning during breakfast.  “There’s been a possible measles outbreak and we’re closed for the day until it can be confirmed one way or the other.”

 

And this, she thinks, is why vaccinating your kids is so important.   She hopes that it turns out to be nothing.  But even if it isn’t anything, today is still a bust.  She sighs and tries to call Travis – but only gets his voicemail.  Perhaps he’s cycling again.

 

So, no plans, except hanging around with her eighteen-month-old.  Fun.  She lets her head fall back and stares at the ceiling.  Adrian uses the distraction to fling a spoonful of cheerios – luckily without milk – at her.

 

Great.

 

“No, no, no, cereal goes in your _mouth;_ you don’t throw it at Mommy.”  She gets up and starts to wipe up the Cheerios. 

 

“Mama.”  Adrian gives her a toothy grin.

 

“Yes, baby, Mommy says to not throw Cheerios.” She sighs, and takes the rest of the food from him, which causes him to cry, because of course it’s the end of the world.

 

Luckily, he’s distracted by Sesame Street.

 

She flops on the couch and tries to figure out her new plans for the day.  Shopping, maybe?  It _is_ her birthday, after all…

 

She reaches out to Maya and Andy, but both are busy that day and can’t go shopping.  Travis still isn’t answering. 

 

She finally decides to just go alone, and plops Adrian in his car seat, where he at least promptly falls asleep.  The drive to Northgate Mall goes quick, and she loads Adrian into his stroller, where he continues to nap, as she starts wandering around. 

 

She grabs lunch and gives Adrian some of hers along with some that she packed for him especially.  She picks up a nice dress at Gap, and some tops at Old Navy, and browses Nordstrom’s Rack for shoes, finding a nice pair of heels she purchases on a whim – she doesn’t know when she’ll wear them, but she likes the look of them, and she thinks Lucas will appreciate how her legs look in them.

 

By early afternoon she’s ready to head home and does so.  She tries Travis again, and this time he answers.  “Yeah, I can’t hang out today, Vic, I have plans already.”

 

“You made plans on my birthday?  When we usually hang out?”

 

“Hey, last year we had to work on your birthday, and the year before that, you spent it with Lucas.”

 

“That year I was pregnant and feeling awful and Lucas took the day off to make sure I didn’t need to go to the hospital,” she points out.  “It’s not the same thing.”

 

“The point is we haven’t spent your birthday together in the last two years, so I assumed this year would be the same.”  He sighs.  “I could maybe come over late, but I don’t know…”

 

“It’s okay, forget it.”  She sighs.  “See you tomorrow at work. Bye.”  She hangs up and turns to Adrian.  “Uncle Travis is deserting Mommy.”

 

“Vis? Vis here?”

 

“No, Travis is not here.”  She puts on Baby Einstein on Youtube on the TV and flops down on the couch again.  “Here, you can at least have a fun time.”

 

She watches Baby Einstein with Adrian, trying to quell the boredom.  She tries to read, and gets halfway through a book, and she plays a bit on the piano, but quits after half an hour.  “You know, it’s Mommy’s birthday.  If Mommy’s friends are too busy to have fun, maybe _we_ can have fun.  Let’s go to the park.”

 

She puts Adrian in his stroller again, and they make the few-blocks trek up 26th street to Ella Bailey park. 

 

After an hour at the park, she decides it’s been long enough and packs him back up to head home.  It’s getting close to dinner time now, and she hopes that Lucas will be home relatively on time.

He isn’t. 

 

She makes dinner: pasta with tomato sauce, a salad, and garlic bread, and wishes her husband would come home.  He doesn’t.

 

Finally, it’s getting late enough to start getting Adrian ready for bed, and he texts.  “Sorry, got caught up at work, I’ll be home soon.  Love you.”

 

Still no mention of her birthday.

 

He comes in the door twenty minutes later, and says he needs to change.  “AC Douglas asked us out to drinks tonight and I told him we’d be happy to, we just need to get the sitter – which I ordered, and Veronica is going to come and watch him for us.”

 

“Wait, what?  Isn’t drinks a bit…”  She flounders as he takes the stairs up to their bedroom.  “It’s just short notice is all,” she finally says, ignoring the fact it’s her birthday.

 

“I know, but I thought you’d be up for it?  You were just saying we needed to spend more time with adults.”  Lucas is half undressed already.  He puts on a light blue shirt that is one of her favorites and pulls out a pair of khakis from his side of the closet.  “What’s wrong, Vic?”

 

“Nothing is wrong. I’m fine.”  She forces a smile.  The day just is not going well.  “I had to take Adrian all day because there might be a measles outbreak at daycare.”

 

“Oh no,” he replies.  “He okay?”

 

“He’s fine.  But I had plans and they had to be canceled.”  She shrugs.  “No big deal.”  It’s just a birthday, after all.

 

“I’m really sorry, Eggy.”  He comes over and kisses her softly.  “I’m going to go see Adrian.  And you should probably get dressed.”

 

“Right.  Get dressed.”  She goes to the closet and pulls out her new dress and heels.  Maybe the new clothes will cheer her up.

 

“You look great, Eggy.”  Lucas enters the room again, taking in her new outfit.  “Veronica just texted: she’s five minutes away.”

 

“Great,” she smiles without her eyes.  Lucas notices but doesn’t say anything.

 

She finishes getting ready and Lucas grabs a quick bite to eat before Veronica shows up.  The young woman is an experienced babysitter and knows their house and routine well.  “Enjoy your night!” she calls out to them as Lucas and Vic put on their jackets and leave.

 

“So, AC Douglas invited us to drinks?” She asks, once they get into his non-SFD car.

 

“That’s right.”  He places a hand on her thigh, over her dress.  “With his wife.  Marcia, I believe.”

 

“How nice,” she replies in a tone that isn’t very nice at all.  He looks at her, taken aback.  “I’m sorry,” she says, meaning it.  “It’s just not been a great day and unexpected drinks with an AC is just icing on the cake.”  She winces at the cake reference, which just came out.  She leans up and kisses his cheek.  “I’m in a mood and I know it.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Lucas says, meaning it.  “We can always just go back home –”

 

“No, no, let’s go.”  She motions onward.  “We already have a sitter; we might as well go out.”  She leans against the headrest.  “I’ll try my hardest to be nice.”

 

“All right.”  She doesn’t pay much attention to where they’re going.  Lucas finally pulls up at a place, a bar she doesn’t recognize, and parks.  “Ready?”  He gets out of the car and comes around to her side to open the door for her – something she doesn’t need but always appreciates him doing. 

 

“I’m ready.” She accepts his hand and lets him lead her to the bar.  It’s dark inside – pitch black, actually – and she wonders what type of bar this _is_ , when the lights suddenly go on.

 

“SURPRISE!”

 

She jumps and whirls around to face Lucas, who is grinning at her.  She turns back around and freezes: all her friends are there, from Travis and her shift mates at 19 to her new mommy friends.

 

“What – what _is_ this?”  She stutters out.

 

“Happy birthday, Vic!” Everyone yells.  Lucas comes up and puts his arms around her.  

  
“It’s a surprise party – I hope it’s okay?”  He adds the last part in her ear, his tone suddenly worried.  “You said you weren’t really feeling like going out –”

 

“No, no, this is fine.”  She laughs.  “Trust me, this makes it all better.”  She steps forwards and accepts a hug from Travis.  “I guess you remembered my birthday after all.”

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday, Mango!


End file.
